


And We Meet Again and Again

by RomanogersLove



Category: Captain America (Movies)
Genre: Before We Go references, F/M, first meetings AU? idk what else to call it, song recs in every chapter
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-15
Updated: 2016-07-12
Packaged: 2018-05-26 19:52:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 17,355
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6253717
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RomanogersLove/pseuds/RomanogersLove
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>And We Meet Again and Again is a story dealing with what happens when the one you love is almost constantly out of your reach. Steve will learn that love knows no distance with each encounter he has with Natasha. With every meeting, it's just like the first time. Literally. "If we can find a way to start the chase again. We might rediscover love when we circle around the bend" (Circles by The Young Romans)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Cliche beginnings- Coffee Shop

**Author's Note:**

> Romanogers Song Rec- “Won’t Stop” by OneRepublic  
> “They say love ain’t fair  
> But I’m doing fine…  
> [Chorus]  
> Cause I swear it’s you  
> I swear it’s you  
> I swear it’s you that I’ve waited for  
> I swear it’s you  
> I swear it’s you  
> I swear it’s you that my heart beats for  
> And it ain’t gonna stop  
> No it just won’t stop”

April 2014

 

Walking down Morris street in Philadelphia I look for the coffee shop that I’m suppose to be photographing for Stark X as the best coffee shop in America, passing 17th and 16th street before going down 15th street where the shop is located. I stop in front of Ultimo Coffee and take in the scenery, it was quiet with only a few people inside the shop and on the street. Taking out my Canon EOS 1D Mark III I decide to capture the scene and step farther out to get the whole store front. _Perfect_ , I think as I kneel down slightly to get the right angle. I press the button to take the picture when all of a sudden I see a flash of red. A flowery scent passes me as I stand up to look at the stranger who entered my shot. She was already halfway down the block and all I could gather was that she was a female with bright red hair. I look down back at my picture and felt my breath being taken away. The stranger in the picture looked gorgeous. She had sparkling green eyes and though she wasn't smiling, I could tell that her smile would be the death of me. I look back up to the direction she was walking to find that she was already gone. I sigh inwardly. Well, she was too good for me anyways. Probably already has someone and wouldn't even look twice in my direction.

I decide to focus on the job at hand and finish taking pictures of the coffee shop before thoughts of the beautiful stranger take over. I retake the shot of the storefront and go for a few different angles, then proceed to go inside the store and talk to the owner as well as take a few pictures of the interior. I get a few pictures of the latte art the barista makes as well.  
"You're really good at this" I say to her as I take the pictures. The brunette woman smiles as she continues her work, "thanks. You're not too bad at taking picture." I let out a small laugh, "thanks, it's not that hard to do though." I hear the bell ring, signaling a new customer has walked in. I move out of the way and look over the pictures I've taken. Deciding they were good enough, my job was complete. All I need to do is send the pictures in for the article. It’s still early so I figure I might as well order a cup of coffee while I’m still here. I let the new customer order while I study the menu. "Have you decided yet?" I hear the barista ask me. "I guess so" I reply. She leans closer over the counter with a smile and asks, "could I interest you in a latte?" I give her a small smile, "as great as your latte art is, I'm not much of a latte person. I'll take an americano though." "Nice choice" I hear a sultry voice behind me. I turn around and see the gorgeous redhead captured in my picture from before. All I could do was stare at her. I couldn't believe she was standing in front me and commenting on my choice of coffee. The redhead smiled and then proceeded to the counter to place her own order, "I'll have an americano as well" she says then turns back to give me a smirk. Stupidly, all I could think to say was, "nice choice." She laughs a little and at that moment, I decided it was the most beautiful sound I have ever heard. She gestures to a table for two as she sits and waits for her coffee. She gives me a look and raises one eyebrow as if asking me, ‘well?’ Taking a deep breath, I decide to go for it. I walk to the other side of the table and sit down across from her.

Neither of us say anything. She just sits there with a smile observing me while I take the chance to study her more. Her hair is wavy and cut slightly passed her shoulders. She's wearing a black pea coat and dark jeans with black boots. Even with the heels on her boots giving some height, she's still shorter than me by a good 8 inches. Her nails are painted black with a red hourglass in the middle. ‘ _Black Widow_ ’ As soon as the thought entered my mind her green eyes seem to sparkle more and she shoots me a deadly smile. I tense up. I knew her smile would be the death of me. Just then the barista brings out our order and sets it on the table, "anything else I can get you?" She asks, looking at me. "No, thank you." The redhead answers before I can say a word. Not that I would’ve been able to say anything with her here anyways. The barista walks back to her station. I turn my attention back to the woman in front of me to see that she is taking a sip of her coffee; I choose to do the same. We drink our coffees in silence until a loud laugh breaks the quiet moment. We both look over to see the barista flirting with a customer that just walked in.

“Well she’s certainly trying, I’ll give her that.”

“Trying what?” I ask. She raises her eyebrow.

“You’re kidding me right?”

“I’m afraid not, ma’am.”

She takes another sip of her coffee as if deciding whether she wants me to know what’s going on. She makes up her mind and proceeds to lean over the table. I lean forward to meet her halfway

“She wants your attention, but you’re not giving it to her. Instead, you’re sitting here having coffee with me. She’s not too happy about that so now she’s trying to get your attention again by flirting loudly with that customer.”

“Why would she want my attention? She’s had it while I was working and she didn’t seem very interested.”  
She rolls her eyes at me, “You’re an attractive guy, and she’s definitely noticed.”

I was taken aback by what she said since I wasn’t used to people saying this about me. I still think of myself as the scrawny kid who no one would take a second glance at. I wasn’t sure what to say, so I let the silence take over while we continued sipping our coffees. We're both almost done with our coffees and no other words are exchanged. I was trying to figure out a way to ask for her name when she beat me to it.

“So..” She smiles, “Does Mr. Attractive have a name?”

I smile back and extend my hand out, “Steve Rogers.”

She takes my hand, “Natasha Romanoff.”

Natasha. I now have a name for the woman invading my thoughts. Our hands are still joined and neither of us are saying anything. It doesn’t feel awkward though. We’re both just observing each other. Even though her face remains cool and collected I could tell she was thinking the same thing I was. Where is this going? Our eyes meet and I felt my heart beat faster. I knew my answer. Anywhere. Everywhere. As long as I’m with her. She seemed to find her answer too, “Come on Steve, I think there’s more places in Philadelphia worth exploring.” We walk out of the shop, still hand in and hand, down 15th street. “Where are we going?” She just smiles and pulls me toward the parked Corvette Stingray, “You’ll find out soon enough.” We get into the car and she starts the engine and drives towards our destination.

15 minutes later we arrive at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. We walk inside the main building to buy tickets then we make our way towards The Art of American Still Life exhibit. There isn’t a lot of people here on a tuesday afternoon, so we mostly had the place to ourselves. Whist walking through the different exhibits, neither of us say anything. We just walk and look at the artwork together. An hour passes before we decide to head to Perelman Building for the other collections. We make our way to the Cy Twombly: Sculptures.

While looking at the sculptures, Natasha breaks the silence, “How did you get into photography? You seem more like the drawing type.”

“You’re right about that,” I answer. “I like drawing more than taking pictures, but the pay isn’t as good. I got offered a job by my best friend as a photographer, so here I am. What about you? What do you do?”

“I’m a dancer.” She says, simply.

“What brings you to Philadelphia then?”

“Work,” She replies, “My boss sent me to recruit someone.”

“Any luck with that?”

She looks at me and smiles, “I have my eye on someone.”

After examining every art piece, we exit the museum and head back to the car. “Where are you staying at Mr. Photographer?” “I’m staying at the Hotel Palomar Philadelphia.”

“So am I.”

Luckily we're not too far from the hotel as the drive took about 10 minutes. She parks the corvette and we make our way to the main lobby.

"What floor are you at?" I ask.

"Third."

"Really? So am I."

We make our way up to the third floor. I laugh when I see we're still headed the same direction.

"I really shouldn't be surprised anymore."

She smiles as she reaches the room directly next to mine.

"Well now I know exactly where to find you." Both of us linger in front of the door. I take a breath, here goes nothing, "would you like to grab lunch with me tomorrow? I know a pizza place here that's pretty great. Or if you don't like pizza, we could do something-" She put her finger on my lips effectively shushing me.

"Pizza sounds great, Steve. I'll see you tomorrow."

She removes her finger then grabs her keycard to open the door. She turns around and flashes me a smile before closing it. I'm still standing there grinning like an idiot.

I've got a date tomorrow. With Natasha Romanoff.

I walk inside my own room and as expected, I couldn’t go to sleep. I was excited and nervous about the whole affair. There’s no way I’m going to be able sleep anytime soon. Getting up off the bed, I walk towards my suitcase figuring I could find something to do. After digging around a bit, I find my sketchbook. I reluctantly pick it up; I haven’t drawn in a long time. I skip past the entire first half of the book, avoiding the old sketches, and land on an empty page. I grab my pencil and move to the desk by the window. _Now what_? I close my eyes and take a deep breath. I open them and all I could see was her.

Natasha.

It was nearly four in the morning when I finally think the sketches are good enough to be left alone.

‘ _Three hours of sleep isn’t bad_ ’

I think to myself as I get into bed and drift away to sleep. I wake up at 7A.M. to the sound of my alarm and get ready for my morning jog. I look at my phone to see a text from Sam:

**Just cause you’re technically on**

**vacation doesn’t mean you can**

**slack off on our morning routine.**

I shoot him a text back before heading out.

Two hours later, I arrive back to my room to grab a shower and some breakfast. By the time I’m done, it’s 10:30. Still too early for lunch… but I still find myself itching to see Natasha. I decide to take a chance and knock on her door to see if she would want to hang out before our date. Our date. I smile at the thought. We’re going on a date. She opens the door and smiles when she sees me. I’m at a loss for words. She's dressed casually in a white shirt and a brown leather jacket. Yet I still find myself thinking of how beautiful she is.

“Well someone’s a bit early… ”

“I- sorry, I know I’m early but I wanted to see you and I was hoping that maybe you would be okay with it..”

I look up to make eye contact with her and she gives a light laugh. Her laugh is beautiful and I want to hear more of it.

“It’s alright Steve. I’m okay with you being here.”

She moves outside her room and shuts her door.

“You’re lucky I’m always ready for an adventure.”

She grabs my hand starts to pull me down the hall and out of the hotel.

“Where are we going?” I ask her.

“I don’t know yet. Let’s just see where this goes.”

As it turns out we just decided to wander around the streets of Philly while making our way towards Rosa’s. It was only suppose to take 15 minutes to get there but we managed to take an hour and a half just by strolling around and getting to know each other.

“Is there anywhere in particular you want to see here?”

I asked Natasha. While she looks around the streets in awe.

“Not really. It’s just nice to be out and not have to worry about anything.”

I nod in agreement. We walk a little bit before she speaks again.

“The people here… are a lot kinder than I expected.”

I look at her a little confused.

“I’m not originally from the States. I was born in Russia.”

She stops as if wondering why she said that aloud. She seems to want to change the subject, so I help her out.

“You know, not everyone here is that nice. But the place we’re going to has an amazing project they’re doing. They have a pay-it-forward program where you can pay for a slice a pizza for whoever needs it. I got to talk to the owners for an article and they’re great people. They’ve been helping people and are planning more things to give these people opportunities.”

She listens and nods, “that’s really amazing. It’s nice to see that people still have a heart.”

We’re about a block away from the restaurant when she stops. Something catches her eye. She kneels to the ground and picks up a broken ring. It looked like an engagement ring. We both look at it, most likely thinking the same thing; someone didn’t get their happy ending.

“It’s beautiful. At least, it was” she muses.

A young woman frantically runs towards us, tears still running down her face.

“Th-that ring b-belongs to me.”

She tries to say as calmly as possible, but it comes out in a choked voice. Natasha hands her the broken piece of jewelry and watches as the woman’s expression softens before it quickly hardens again.

“Love isn’t real. It doesn’t exist. The sooner you two realize that, the better.”

She says this to us before turning around to depart.

“Love is for children” Natasha says nonchalantly.

I look at her in disbelief wondering what happened to make her say that. No. She can't mean that. I have to convince her.

“Love is real. I’ve seen it happen. I’ve experienced it…”

I stop.

_But I couldn’t let go. What am I doing?_

We both look at each other. Neither of us accepting what the other is saying. She doesn’t believe in love. And I… do? Do I still believe it? If neither of us do then what are we doing? Our eyes meet. She turns her head.

“Let’s go grab some pizza,” was her way of changing the topic.

We arrive at the pizza place and as soon as we walk in, the tension disappears. All the customers here are happy and all over are sticky notes with proof that people can be kind and have a heart. We both smile as we decide what to order.

“You like olives on your pizza?” I ask after she orders a combination of toppings.

“You don’t?” she replies.

I shake my head. As we go sit in the booth and wait for the orders she says, “don’t make fun of my topping choices. At least I’m not boring and only got pepperoni.”

I smile, “hey! Pepperoni was meant to be on pizza.”

She smiles back.

Just like that, for the rest of the date we went back and forth about stupid meaningless things, like whether orange juice tasted better than apple juice (which it does) and if cats were better than dogs (which they aren’t), making me realize that we were okay. We’re going to be just fine.

And we were fine. But only for a few moments.

We were laying on the bed trying to pick a movie to watch.

“What do you want to watch Nat?” I ask.

She just shrugs, “it doesn’t really matter.”

“Well, what kind of genre do you usually like?” She stops and tries to think, “...I don’t know… I can’t even remember the last time I saw a movie...”

She has this pained and confused look in her eyes again. Seeing her like this makes me want to know what happened, but she’s not the type to share things so easily. I put my arms around her to give her a hug, “Hey, it’s okay. We’ll just put a random film on. No big deal.” She holds onto me for a few extra seconds before nodding. After flipping through the selection, we settle on _Legally Blonde_. Natasha arches one eyebrow and gives me a skeptical look. “What? It's a good movie. Plus it's set in Boston, the best city in the world” was my reply.

After the movie was over and we had finished the cookies and cream ice cream, I asked her what she thought about the movie. She ponders over it then answers, “I liked it, Elle is a strong character and she knows herself well. She stayed true to her character. I think that's important.” I nod and agree, “there's a sequel, but they're never as good as the first movie.” “Why not?” She asks me. “Well it's just that the sequel normally isn't as good as the original.” I scratch my head trying to think of an example. “Oh. Like _Mean Girls_ , the sequel was definitely worse than the original.” Natasha just looks at me with a confused look. “... _Mean girls_?” “You haven't seen that movie?” She shakes her head then goes quiet. I reach over and take her hand making her focus her attention on me. I smile at her, “I guess that's another movie we have to put on the list then.” She gives a small smile and agrees.

That night, after the movie marathon, we decided to share a hotel room rather than two separate ones. We got to know each other very well that night and every night after. Now I’m used to waking up to the sight of red hair and her equally red and luscious lips to kiss every morning. I’ve gone to see her dance recitals and my camera as well as sketchbook were slowly filling up with our lives together. Everything was great.

Or so I thought.

Exactly a month after we met, on a May morning, I woke up ready for Natasha to finally meet my two best friends. She was really excited and slightly afraid that they wouldn’t like her though she would never admit it. She kept trying to readjust her look and she was running all around the room making sure she looked perfect.

“Relax Nat, you look perfect like always. I know they’ll love you like I do.”

Shit. I wasn’t suppose to say that yet.

“You love me?”

She stopped moving and looked straight at me. She looked like she wanted to run. There’s no going back now though. I take a deep breath and say, “yes. I love you. You don’t have to say it back… and I didn’t mean to say it like that… I mean it… but you just… I wasn’t suppose to just blurt it out like that… I’m sorry if I’m scaring you, are we okay?”

She hesitated. I knew she was afraid of commitment and I thought I had lost her right then and there, but she never ceases to amaze me. She takes a deep breath then speaks.

“We’re okay Steve. I-” She stops and looks me in the eyes, “I feel… deeply for you too… I’m just not ready for that yet. But we’re okay.”

I let out the breath I’ve been holding and reach over and hug her, “thank goodness. We’re okay. I’ll wait as long as it takes.”

She smiles and sneaks a kiss from me.

“Let’s go meet your friends.”

We set up to meet at Ultimo, the place where Nat and I first met. She tells me to go in first while she parks the car. Not long after, Tony and Sam show up and we greet each other. This is where Nat should’ve walked in and joined us. Except, she didn’t. We waited then I tried calling her, but her phone was disconnected. She just disappeared without a trace. I kept hoping maybe she just forgot something, so the three of us go back to the hotel room. We walked in to find that all her stuff had vanished, not that she had much, but still…

_She was gone._


	2. Love is Where the Art is

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Romangers Song Rec- “If You Ever Come Back” by The Script  
> “I'll leave the door on the latch  
> If you ever come back, if you ever come back  
> There'll be a light in the hall and the key under the mat  
> If you ever come back  
> There'll be a smile on my face and the kettle on  
> And it will be just like you were never gone  
> There'll be a light in the hall and the key under the mat  
> If you ever come back…  
> Now they say I'm wasting my time  
> 'Cause you're never comin' home  
> But they used to say the world was flat  
> But how wrong was that now?  
> And by leavin' my door open  
> I'm riskin' everything I own  
> There's nothing I can lose in a break-in that you haven't taken”
> 
> (I'm sorry- C)

July 2014

It's been a whole month since Natasha left. A month of pure agony and I still have no idea where she's disappeared to. I've gone through the entire city of Philadelphia with no luck. She's just vanished without a trace. I had Tony pull some strings to try and track her down, but so far there are no leads. Sam offered his help by running around the city with me to find some sort of clue as to where she might be. He's been a lot more supportive than Tony about the whole ordeal.

“Look Steve, we need to talk.” He says to me as I'm getting ready to leave the hotel room.

“Not now, Stark. I don't want to hear it.” He sighs but makes no move to get out of my way.

“Steve. I'm saying this as your best friend. You need to move on. She's gone.”

I grit my teeth in anger, “I said to drop it Stark.”

He ignores me and stands his ground. “Alright. I didn't want to have to pull this card, but you leave me with no choice. Steven Grant Rogers, I'm sending you to Milan, Italy for an art exhibit that I need you to cover.”

Baffled by his demand I look at him, “you're kidding. No. No way. There's nothing you can say or do to make me give up on finding her.”

“I'm not asking you to give up Rogers. I'm asking you to be responsible and do your job. Go and get a change of scenery. Clear your head. You and Sam have looked over the whole city and nothing's turned up. She's not coming back here. You're only hurting yourself waiting for someone who's never going to come back.”

I felt the anger build up in me. Not wanting to punch Tony in the face, I decide to storm out of the room.

Before I leave, I turn to say one last thing, “you would do the same for Pepper.”

 

I walk outside with no clear destination in mind. Every step I take, memories of Natasha floods my mind.

_ Where are you Nat? _

I was so consumed with my thoughts, I didn't notice Sam standing right in front of me. “Hey man, how you holding up? Tony told me what happened.”

“I'm not giving up Sam. I know why you're here.”

“Look man, I'm not telling you to give up. But you really do need to look after yourself more. What are you gonna do when Natasha comes back and sees you this way?”

He pauses “I get how hard this is for you, especially after Peg…”

“Don't.” I stop him from finishing the sentence. She's not who I need to focus on right now. He let's it go and for a moment, we're both quiet.

Until Sam speaks again, “You should take the job and go to Italy.”

I look at him in disbelief. Not this again.

“Before you shut me down on the idea, hear me out.”

I stay quiet though I didn't want to hear what he had to say.

“Tony and I will stay here and keep tracking her. I'll call you right away if something turns up. You know how Tony is; he's just worried about you. Just humor him and go finish the job in a day, come right back and we can continue the search.”

I don't want to agree, but I know they wouldn't be asking me to do this if they weren't worried about me. I let out a deep sigh. “One day. That's it. As soon as the job is over, I'm going to be on the first plane back.”

Sam smiles and gives me a salute, “whatever you say Captain.”

Pepper set up everything I needed for the last day of the Kilmt exhibition at the Palazzo Reale. Today was the last day of the exhibit and I was given two hours after they closed to have the owner’s assistant act as a tour guide while I photographed the artwork.

I arrive at the lobby right when the last few people are making their way out. I make eye contact with one of the blonde women walking out. She smiles brightly at me, but I couldn't bring myself to smile back.

“Right on time Mr. Rogers.”

I hear the familiar voice. I quickly turn around and I couldn't believe who I saw.

I say her name in a low and quiet voice, “Natasha.”

I reach out to touch her, but before we make contact she says something that stops me “Close” she says with a smile, “but my name's Natalie Rushman.”

Natalie. Her name's Natalie. She's not Natasha. But her voice… And she looks exactly like Nat. Except her hair is longer and it's in curls, but I would recognize that shade of red anywhere.

“Mr. Rogers? Are you ready for the tour?”

I snap back to reality leaving my thoughts behind, “yes ma'am.”

We make our way through all the pieces displayed. As she starts giving me background on the artist, I couldn't help but think back to when Natasha and I were at the museum back in Philadelphia. I glance over at Natalie while she explains the painting  _ Sonnenblume _ and what it represents, “there are people who believe this sunflower is a portrait of Emilie Flöge. Are you familiar with their relationship Mr. Rogers?”

I take a picture of the painting before answering her.

“I am Ms. Rushman.” I say turning to look at her.

“I would prefer you call me Steve, if that isn't asking too much.”

Her lips twist up in a smile.

“Sure. In that case, feel free to call me Natalie.”

I nod in agreement. We move on to the next piece for me to photograph. I can feel her watching me. Her face betrays nothing, but I do get a sense that she feels comfortable with me. “So what do you think of their relationship Steve.”

Hearing her say my name almost breaks me. I have to take a minute to compose myself before answering her question.

“Well Natalie. I'm a supporter of the idea that they were lovers.”

“Interesting. And why do you think that?”

I smile looking at the next art piece.

“He drew her.” I say.

She tilts her head slightly, but doesn't say anything.

“There's really only two reasons an artist will spend time to perfect a portrait of a person. One, this person has inspired them in some way.”

I take a picture of the next art piece. She waits for me to continue not even bothering with explaining the rest of Klimt’s work.

“And what's the second reason?”

I turn to focus my attention on her, “he's in love” she laughs, “spoken like a true artist.” _Or a man in love_ , I think to myself.

It takes us only another hour to photograph the select pieces for the magazine. We're both walking out when she asks the question, “how long are you in town for Steve?”

I should tell her that I've arranged for Tony’s private jet to be ready the moment I stepped into the airport, instead, I just shrug. She smiles her beautiful smile again, “well if you're going to be here for a little bit then I would suggest going for a gondola ride in Venice.”

“Isn't that a little far from here?”

“It's only a three hour drive. But if you're worried then I'll take you there myself so that you're not too bored.”

Just when I was thinking over my options, I get a text message from Sam: 

**Hey man. Nothing's come up yet, but I bet you're itching to get back to the States anyways.**

I look from the message and back to Natalie.

_ Actually _ , I'm not.

“That would be great. If you wouldn't mind showing me around.”

“It's a date, then. I'll pick you up at three PM.”

She gives me a peck on the cheek. Her eyes widen in surprise immediately after as if wondering why she did that.

“I'll see you tomorrow” she says leaving.

Yes, I will see her tomorrow. For the first time in a month, I smiled. I text Sam back before heading towards a hotel.

**Tell Tony I'll email him the pictures, I think there's something worth exploring here. I'll get back to you on a return date.**

After checking in the hotel and making my way inside the room, I realized two things. One, I have a date with Natalie and two, how would she know where to find me? As soon as the thought occurred to me I received a text message from a foreign number:

**I'll find you. Don't forget, three o’clock -Nat x**

She even signs her texts the same way as Natasha. I run my hand through my hair as I pace the room. What am I doing? She's not Natasha… Right? I walk towards my suitcase and pull out my sketchbook. I look at the drawings I made of Nat. They're too similar. Right down to the smallest detail. The way they laugh, how they both seem to always be one step ahead of me, and the eyes. Her green eyes are the exact same shade and shape. Yet she showed no signs of recognition when she saw me. Could she really be a different person?

At exactly three o’clock the next day, I was out in front of the hotel to meet Natalie. She was already there leaning against a red Maserati GranTurismo wearing a black leather jacket. She was making everyone around stop for a second glance. However, her attention was only on me.

She smirks, “Right on time Mr. Rogers.”

I laugh “Can’t afford to waste any more time now a days.”

We both get into the car with her in the driver’s seat. The trip to Venice takes roughly three hours. During the first half of the car ride it was quiet, save for the music playing in the background. It was comfortable, just like it always is with Natasha. I look over towards the driver seat and note that they both drive the same way. Relaxed, with one hand on the steering wheel, and going over the speed limit. She presses a button and skips to the next song.

“Uh oh, now I stared at you from across the room until both my eyes were faded” She hums along with the song and I felt my heart stop.

“This song…”

“hm? What about this song Steve?”

“I… is there a reason why it’s on your playlist?”

She shrugs, not making eye contact with me.

“Not really. There’s just something about this song that makes me feel happy. It’s not what I normally listen to, but this one’s special.”

She’s right. It is special. This was the song that played in Ultimo when Nat and I first met. This can’t be a coincidence. I decide to test her.

“So… is there a pizza place that you would recommend near by?”

She laughs, “Is this your way of telling me you’re hungry?”

“Well, not really, I guess I was just curious about you and I wasn’t sure how to ask.”

She smiles, “I am supposed to be your tour guide, so I think answering some questions is part of the job.”

“Alright, in that case, what toppings do you get on your pizza?” “I could go for almost any topping really, but I have to have black olives.”

_ Olives _ .

She likes olives.

“What’s your favorite color?” she asks.

“Blue,” I reply instantly.

“What do you do in your spare time?”

She thinks for a few seconds before replying, “I like to dance.”

She  _ dances _ .

We go through more questions as we continue toward our destination. All of her likes and dislikes were the same as Natasha’s.

We arrive at the Grand Canal just before seven. Natalie had everything taken care of so as soon as we made our way to the dock, the gondolier was ready for us. We settled into the gondola and the ride began. As we moved along the canal, I couldn’t resist taking pictures of the scenery around us. I look over at Natalie to see that she was just as enchanted with our surroundings. She was breathtakingly beautiful. I mentally take a picture of her knowing I would go back and recreate the moment later. She turns her head and our eyes meet. She closes her eyes for a moment then takes a breath.

“Who was she?”

I blink in surprise, “I’m sorry, what?”

She leans back in her seat, “The one who got away. You’re missing someone.”

What would she do if I answered honestly and said ‘ _ you’  _ ? I was tempted to confront her, but I held myself back. She definitely noticed. She was always able to read me well. Realizing she was still waiting on an answer and not knowing what else to say, I blurted out the first name besides hers.

“Peggy.”

Damn it. Why did I mention her? She reaches over and grabs my hand.

“Hey, it’s okay if you’re not ready to talk about her yet.” She says.

I didn’t know what to say so I opted for silence. We spent the rest of the ride listening to the italian music playing with our hands joined.

We get off of the ride and decide to just stroll around. We’re holdings hands and she’s laughing at my awful jokes. Everything was the way it was supposed to be. I let myself pretend that she never left and we’re just on vacation together.

“What other tourist attractions should we go visit while you’re still here?” She asks.

I shrug, as long as I was with her it didn’t matter where we went. She ponders this for a few moments before giving me a grin, “Well, I’m always looking for an excuse to drive my baby. What do you say to a trip to Rome in a few days?” She suggests

“Sounds like a plan.”

 

A few days later after going around Venice and sightseeing, we were ready to head towards Rome. The trip would take about six hours. It's time to confirm my suspicions.

“You're really familiar with the area, how long have you lived here?” I ask her.

“Not that long actually, maybe a month, but my job requires a lot of traveling so it's only natural that I know my way around.”

“My turn to ask a question. Have you always been a photographer?”

“No. I… I was in the military before I got this job.”

“Is that where you met Peggy?”

“Yeah. She taught me everything I know about hand to hand combat. I used to just keep throwing punches without any real technique.”

“You seem like that type. I prefer to strike until I can lock.”

“You know some stuff about combat?”

She doesn't reply right away.

“You could say that.” Was her reply.

We spend the rest of the car ride discussing our current jobs and other places we've traveled to.

 

We finally arrive at the Trevi Fountain right as the sun is setting. Natalie drags me as close as possible to the edge of the fountain.

“Come on Steve, we have to make a wish.” She insists.

“I didn't think you would believe in stuff like this.”

“There's a lot of things about me you don't know. Better make that your wish so you can find out.” She says with a wink.

I watch as Natalie grabs a coin from her pocket then closes her eyes to make a wish before tossing it into the fountain. I take my coin out and look into the water.

_ I wish she was Natasha. _

I toss the coin and watch it sink to the bottom.

“Are we good to go, soldier?”

She extends her hand out to me and I take it.

“Yeah, I think we're going to be okay.” 

 

We decide to go have dinner and grab some gelato for dessert afterwards. We settled on vanilla for me and raspberry for her. Everything felt right as we made our way back towards the fountain with our treats finished.

“Steve?” She says as we approach the edge.

“Yeah Nat?”

“I think you missed a spot.”

“Where?”

“I'll get it.”

She leans into me and reaches up, swiping her thumb at the corner of my mouth.

“Got it…” She whispers.

She was so close to me, I could smell her cherry blossom perfume. I look down at her lips and all I wanted to do was kiss her. I leaned down and our lips met. It was soft and gentle at first, but it quickly grew into something more as she put her arms around my neck and pulled me closer. I respond by settling my hands around her waist. I open my mouth allowing her tongue to move inside as my hand slides under the hem of her shirt. I trace my thumb around her hip then stop. She sensed something was wrong and we broke apart.

“You have a scar there.”

She opens her mouth to explain when all of a sudden we hear a gunshot and everyone becomes panicked.

“Shit!”

I hear her exclaim as she immediately tries to move towards the source. I try to follow her.

“Nat! Wait!”

She's a lot smaller than me making it easier for her to slip away. I lose sight of her within seconds and just like that, she's gone.


	3. In the City of Love

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Romanogers Song Rec- “Love Don't Die” by The Fray  
> “If I know one thing, that's true  
> It's that I'm never leaving you  
> And you don't say much, yeah, that's true  
> But I lose it when you do
> 
> Don't let them tell no lie  
> Love don't die
> 
> No matter where we go  
> Or even if we don't  
> And even if they try  
> They'll never take my body from your side  
> Love don't die
> 
> If there is one thing, that's true  
> It's not what I say, it's what I do  
> And I say too much, yeah, that's true  
> So just listen to what I do
> 
> A thousand years go by  
> But love don't die”

September 2014

“I'm telling you Natalie is Natasha! They're the same person.”

Tony sighs but continues with his work, ignoring me. 

“Tony I'm being serious. Will you stop for a minute and just hear me out?”

“Look Steve, I've been listening to you talk about this woman ever since you got back from Italy. I know how badly you want her to be Natasha, but she's not.”

Feeling frustrated, I turn to Sam, “you believe me right?”

“I don't know, man. It sounds kinda crazy. Isn't there a thing where people say there are seven other people in the world who look like you? Maybe you just found one of her lookalikes.”

“No. She's Natasha. Even if that were true, they would still be different people with different experiences and taste. Natalie was exactly the same as Natasha.” Neither of them looked convinced. I pause not sure if I wanted them to know something else I discovered, but I realize if I wanted them to take me seriously, I would have to tell them.

“They had the same scar.”I said.

This piqued their interest.

“You sure it wasn't just a birthmark or something?”

“It was a scar. I'm sure of it. Nat didn’t go into details, but she did tell me that she was shot once and that's how she got a scar.”

Tony finally decides to speak up, “What did you say her name was?”

I glare at him, “Natasha, her name's…”

“No, not that name. The other name, genius. How could I forget her real name when all you do is talk about her?”

“Natalie Rushman. Where are you going with this Tony?”

“Found her.” He said.

“Wait, what?”

“Try and keep up, old man. We couldn't find anything under Natasha Romanoff. She's a ghost story. Natalie Rushman, on the other hand, is very much here in the database.”

I look over at the screen Tony had pulled up.

“Wow. Impressive. She's a model? I can see why you fell for her.”

“Shut up Stark. It's not just because she's beautiful. I love her for who she is.”

“And who exactly is she? No. You don't know. Of course not. She's been lying to you the whole time.”

“Tony, man, stop giving Steve such a hard time. We don't know why she's lying. Let's not jump to conclusions just yet.”

“Fine. But she better have a good reason for leaving him stuck like a sick puppy.”

“Anyways, now we can try to… Oh hey, look at that! Steve I think you may want to take a trip to Paris. Looks like your girl is going to be in fashion week.”

  
  


I arrive at Paris the night before fashion week starts. Since I worked for Stark X Magazines, it was easy for me to get into the event. I decide to grab a bite at Café Marly before checking into the hotel. I was luckily seated by the window so that I could enjoy the view of the Pyramid of Louvre.

I pulled out my camera to take a picture instead of looking over the menu.

“Nice view?” I hear a voice ask and I immediately stop what I'm doing to find the source of it.

She was seated in the table next to mine. It looked like there might have been another person with her, but that person was gone. I smile at her. 

“Yeah, it is a nice view.”

“Well my view is nicer, care to join me?” She offers.

I sit down in the chair opposite of her. “So what's your name, Mr. Photographer?”

...not this again. I sigh inwardly.

“Steve. My name is Steve Rogers.”

I watch her face for any sense of recognition, but all I saw was hesitation and confusion. She quickly composes herself. If I wasn't watching her so closely, I wouldn't have noticed.

“My name is Natalie Rushman.”

“I believe we've met Ms. Rushman.” I try.

“Oh, is that so?”

I can see the gears turning in her head as she struggled to remember. Struggled? She is struggling, but Natasha doesn't struggle with anything. I decide to help her out. 

“Yes, we met two months ago in Milan for the Kilmt exhibition at the Palazzo Reale.”

“Milan…”

She says the word and thinks it over then smiles brightly. “Steve I think you might have me confused with someone else. I was in Milan just last week for the fashion show, not two months ago. I also didn't go to the Palazzo Reale.”

Impossible.

I know it was her. Yet she looks completely convinced that she wasn’t there with me. I didn’t know what else I could say so I decided to just go for the obvious.

“So you're here for fashion week in Paris then?”

“I am. I'm guessing you're here for the same reason.”

_ I'm here for you. _

But I couldn't say that so I simply nodded. Natalie turns her head and looks out the window admiring the view.

“Life is strange don't you think Mr. Rogers?” 

“It is.”

She sighs, “you never know who you may encounter and why.”

 

We spent the rest of the time making small talk then agreed to see each other tomorrow at the fashion show.

I was trying to wrap my head around all that's happened, but I just didn't understand. I knew one thing though: Natalie is who I'm looking for. Now if only I could figure out why she was acting this way.

  
  


Fashion week proved to be busy for Natalie. We only had time for a quick hello and then she was whisked away by the other models. At the end of the show each day, I would go backstage to look for her, but she always disappeared before I could find her. Luckily, she wasn't really gone; I would see her on the runway the next day looking beautiful as ever. Since I was there to do my job, I took pictures of all the models debuting the latest fashion, but of course only one caught my eye. 

She made all of her outfits look amazing especially when she modeled the purple and black dress by Elie Saab. We made eye contact and she flashed a smile at me before continuing down the runway.

Finally, after the week was over, I got a text message from her:

**Fashion week was a success, let’s celebrate! Hope you're not scared of heights. Meet me for some champagne at 9- xx**

 

I make it to the top of the Eiffel Tower at exactly nine to find Natalie already there with a glass of champagne waiting for me. She smiles at me and says, “hey stranger, glad to see you made it.”

“I wouldn't miss it for the world.”

She laughs, “that's a bit dramatic.”

 

She has no idea how much I actually mean it.

 

“You really seem to like tourist attractions” I say to her looking at the view.

She shrugs, “... They're… They're easier to remember.”

“What do you mean by that?”

She takes a sip of her drink, “it's just…”

 

She looks down at all the people walking around then looks up with a sad smile.

“It's just that they're a big deal, so it's hard to forget things that have made a huge impact on people.”

“What about you? Are you a tourist person?”

“Honestly, I wasn't.”

“But?” I smile at her.

“But I think I've found a new appreciation for them.”

 

A few moment passes with neither of us saying anything. She breaks the silence when she turns to me and asks, “where would you go if you could be anywhere right now?”

_ I'd be right here, with you _ , but I couldn't say that, so I settled for the next best answer.

“Disneyland.”

“Disneyland?”

“It's the happiest place on earth! Of course that's where I would want to be.

She laughs, “you're a dork. Fair point though.”

An idea pops into my head. “Do you wanna go?”

“What? Now?”

“Not right now, but tomorrow. There's a Disneyland in Paris. We should go.”

She gives me an ‘are you serious’ look. 

“It'll be fun! What, are you afraid of having fun?”

She snorts, “please, I'm the queen of having fun. Bring it. We're going to have the best time ever.”

That we are.

I would make sure of it.

  
  


We decide to just meet at the park when it opens at ten in the morning. I texted her to make sure she dresses up as a character as I would do the same.

 

Standing at the entrance waiting for me was Nat dressed up as Megara. She turns around to look at me then smiles, “well hello there Hercules. Fancy meeting you here.”

“Did you know I would pick Hercules? Or are you just really good at reading people.”

She smirks, “That's something you'll just have to find out.”

 

We make our way inside of the park and immediately head towards space mountain.

After the ride ended and we both got to buy the picture taken, we set a goal to go on every single ride. Along the way, we saw all the Disney characters getting attention from all the kids around. I noticed Natalie would keep glancing back to the children crowding around Sleeping Beauty.

I nudge her, “penny for your thoughts?”

She gives me a small smile, “it's nothing really. I just… It's nice to see families enjoying time with each other.”

“Yeah, it is.”

“I never got to experience that… My parents died when I was very young. I don't even remember them.”

Her eyes widen in surprise wondering why she let out this piece of information. She's waiting for me to judge her, I can tell by the way she guards herself and crosses her arms. I don’t, instead, I choose to tell her about my own family. 

“Yeah, I didn't get much of that either. It was just my mom and I most of the time. Dad died when I was young.”

She doesn’t say anything, but she does uncross her arms letting her hand brush against mine as we continue to the next attraction.

As we approach the ‘it’s a small world’ ride, she grabs my hand, “come on Hercules, I promised fun, so let's get to it.”

We spend the rest of the day going on different rides as well as posing for pictures with some kids who thought we were the “perfect Hercules and Megara”.

All the kids were dressed up as the characters too, so it was nice for us to compliment them back on their costumes.

Right at closing, we made our way to Sleeping Beauty’s castle for the fireworks. It was a magical way to end the night. I looked over at Nat to see her eyes sparkling with joy. I knew that this would be a good memory for her to look back on.

With the night drawing to an end, we walked over to the Disney Hotel where we would be staying in Cinderella’s suite. There was only one bed so I offered to go sleep on the couch, but she wouldn't agree to that. We both got ready for bed and settled in.

“You know, I don't normally share beds with strangers. No matter how handsome.”

I turn over to face her “so you think I'm handsome?”

She rolls her eyes, “that's what you got out of that?”

I laugh, “well to be fair I don't think of us as strangers.”

“No” she muses, “I guess we're not.”

She scoots closer to me and places her head on my chest.

“Good night Steve.” I wrap one arm around her waist, “good night Nat.”

  
  


I wake up the next morning and reach towards the other side of the bed. But it was empty. I sit up and look around the room. She was gone.


	4. New Year, New You?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Romanogers song rec- “Avalanche” by Walk The Moon  
> “Sometimes the past echoes in the future  
> Starting long before we were born  
> Sometimes you only get one chance
> 
> You got a look in your eyes  
> I knew you in a past life  
> One glance and the avalanche drops  
> One look and my heartbeat stops  
> Ships pass in the night  
> I don't wanna wait 'til the next life  
> One glance and the avalanche drops  
> One look and my heartbeat stops”
> 
> (I shouldn't be allowed to watch movies before writing- C)

December 2014/January 2015

 

After losing her again I asked Tony to see if he could help find her, but nothing came up. Still, we tried. Both Sam and Tony know how much she means to me even if they don't necessarily approve. They have my back though, and I trust them with anything.

Unfortunately, Natalie Rushman is now a dead end just like Natasha Romanoff. Her last known appearance was in Paris… two months ago.

I still haven't given up. I have to find her. I'll do whatever it takes. Which also means I have to be responsible and do my job. Which is how I ended up in Time Square on New Year's Eve for the ball drop. 

The countdown began and people were excitedly shouting the numbers backwards from ten.

“5! 4!...”

Right before we could get to one, I felt someone grab me and pull me down for a kiss

“1! Happy New Year!”

It was unexpected and I didn't have time to react. It was over before I knew it and the blonde woman who kissed me quickly moved away from me. Against my better judgement, I follow her.

She moves fast, passing the crowd of people. I almost lose her, but luckily I know New York well enough to take a shortcut and catch up to her. She's only a few steps ahead of me and I know she feels my presence since she starts to walk faster. I reach out to grab her arm before she can make her escape. I turn her around just as she was about to deck me in the face. We both stop and stare at each other.

She doesn't hit me.

I couldn't believe it.

“Nat…” she looks behind me.

“Look, I'm not Nat or whoever you're looking for. I need to leave and you need to let go of me.”

My grip on her tightens as I hear her tell me to let her go. But I can't let her go. I refuse to listen to her.

“No, you're who I'm looking for. I know it. I'm not letting you leave again.”

She looks behind me again and mutters a word in another language. A curse word I assume

“Well then I guess you're coming with me for now. We need to leave. Now.”

We end up on 42nd street going down to the subway station, boarding the next train to who-knows-where.

She takes a seat and I sit down next to her. She has her eyes closed and thinks hard while I'm just staring at her, wondering what's going on and why she seems to be running away. At least she's not running away from  _ me _ this time.

She takes a deep breath and then opens her eyes to face me.

“Okay. We have some time here so let's get down to it. First, my name isn't Nat. It's Brooke Dalton. Second, what's your name?”

Brooke… Her name is Brooke now?

“I'm Steve. Steve Rogers.”

Something flashes in her eyes but it's gone before I can even get a read on what it was. She crosses her arms and leans back in her seat.

“Well, I think we established that I'm not the person that you think I am. You seem to know your way around pretty well, so I don't have to worry about you getting lost.”

“Wait. What? That's it? You can't just go around kissing people then expect to leave without getting an answer.”

“Oh, that. That's why you're here? It was just a kiss. I don't even want to know how you would react if we slept together.”

This woman is going to be the death of me.

“I… It wasn't… I… Why did you kiss me?”

She shrugs, “I needed a New Year’s kiss.”

Bullshit. She's lying.

She knows I don't believe her, but she doesn't try to convince me.

 

We get off at the next stop and she wants us to go separate ways, but I continue to follow her. She makes it down a block before she finally turns around.

“Okay, why are you still following me?” 

“Maybe I'm going the same way.”

“You're a terrible liar.”

I smile, “wonder where I got that from…”

She smiles for the first time that night, but it was short lived. She glances behind me and immediately turns around, walking down the street. Again, I follow her.

She makes a few turns before finally entering a building. She keeps walking until we enter a ballroom. Specifically, the Prince George Ballroom where a wedding reception was being held. A man approaches us with his hand thrown up in the air, “thank god you're finally here!I thought you would never make it!”

Na-… Brooke and I exchange a confused look.

The man continues, “well, don't just stand there. Go take pictures, that's what we're paying you for.” I look down at the camera hanging around my neck and make the connection. I was about to correct him when Brooke cuts in, “oh of course. He'll get right to it. Won't you Steve?”

She gives me a look and I know to play along.

“Yeah. Of course. I just need my assistant to help me with a few things and we'll be all good to go.”

She glares at me. I just forced her to stay instead of leaving me like she wanted to.

I spend the next hour taking pictures of people while Brooke helps with directing them on what they should do. She's really good at it, she gives me some perspective that I don't think of right away. After the hour we get some down time. I make my way to her on the other side of the room.

A waiter was saying something to her and I couldn't help but feel a little jealous at how close they were. We make eye contact and she smiles at me, making the waiter walk away.

“So… What did he say to you…?”

She laughs, “nothing important. Just asked me about fondue.”

I wasn't sure if she meant the cheese, or if it meant something else… She raises an eyebrow as I didn't say anything.

“You're thinking way too hard about some fancy cheese dip Steve.”

I blush, “I just… I wasn't sure if you were talking about what I thought you were talking about.”

“Oh, and what did you think I was talking about?” She asks. 

But I was thankfully interrupted when the doors opened and the hired photographer walked in. We took that as our cue to leave and made a beeline out of there.

 

Now we're just casually strolling down the street. Whatever she was running from seems to be forgotten.

She's more comfortable with me now and also not trying to get rid of me anymore. “Alright, what's on your mind? I know you want to ask me something.”

She blinks in surprise and wonders how I can read her so well already.

“... Who's Nat?”

I freeze at the question. How can I possibly answer that?

“She… She's my ex. Things got really complicated.”

“Do you still love her?”

“I do.”

“Do I remind you of her?”

“You have no idea.” I look down and shake my head.

“Tell me about her.” She says.

“She's amazing, beautiful. That's what people notice first about her, but there's so much more to her. I still haven't completely figured her out. She's smart and so talented and when she dances, you can't help but focus on her even if there are other performers. Her smile lights up the room; when she smiles, I'm a goner.”

“Sounds like you have her on a pedestal. She's probably not that perfect.”

“She's not perfect, I know that, but I love her anyways.”

“You're too good for her.” She tells me.

“I don't think so.” I reply.

“She doesn't deserve your love.”

“We love who we love, sucks.” I sigh.

She smiles, “yeah, it does suck.”

 

We walk for a few more blocks before she gives me the okay to ask her a question.

“Go on, ask. I know you're dying to know about  _ my _ past.”

“Alright. What happened with you, then?”

“It's complicated. But the short version is that it's about a guy and my job. There's a guy that I'm…  _ with _ . We met from work. I guess I know why they say you shouldn't date your coworker now.”

“What happened?” A  _ guy _ ?

“He's mad at me for something I did. He thinks I'm trying to make him jealous.”

She's with someone. Is this why she keeps leaving me?

I felt my heart shatter.

She was never mine to keep…

“I wasn't trying to make him jealous…but… There was someone I met… I don't remember much about it, but there was someone.”

She looked me in the eyes, trying to communicate what she meant. I knew she was talking about me. We both stop walking. We're just staring at each other now, but she breaks the silence.

“It's possible, isn't it? It's possible that you could meet somebody who's perfect for you even though you're committed to somebody else.” Her eyes beg for me to agree with her.

I want to. I really do.

But I shouldn't lie to her. No matter how much I want to. I shouldn't give her false hope.

“No… I think if you're committed to somebody, you shouldn’t allow yourself to find perfection in someone else.”

She smiles, but out of sadness.

“We love who we love. That does suck.”

I agree with her. It  _ does _ suck. She tries to give a bright smile and takes my hand.

“Let's just make the most of it, yeah?”

“Okay.”

 

It was getting late, so we decided to take a cab back to my hotel room for the night. We had to go back towards Time Square since I was staying at The Muse Hotel.

It was around four in the morning by the time we made it to the room.

“Feel free to borrow anything. We can go get your things after some rest.”

She looked like she was about to protest then thought better of it and simply nodded.

 

While she was in the bathroom I had some time to think about the situation we're in.

She has someone and it's not fair of me to keep her from him, but it doesn't seem like she wants to go back. She's still someone else’s girl though and I can't just have her to myself.

I pace around the room thinking about what I should do. I know I told her I would just let it go for now, but I would be compromising my morals… What am I doing? I should end this, right? It's gone on far enough. My chest aches just thinking about telling her we have to stop what we're doing. It's the right thing to do. My mind knows it, but my heart… My heart isn't listening.

 

I was still torn on the issue, but any thoughts of stopping this relationship dissolved completely when she walked out of the bathroom wearing my favorite blue shirt. It affected me and she knew it too. She wore a devilish smile as she walked closer to me, so close that I could smell the scent of my shampoo on her. It only made me want her more.

She leans in and whispers in my ear, “I think… That you should definitely hurry and get ready for bed.”

All I could do was nod as I hurried towards the bathroom barely remembering to grab the bathrobe hanging in the closet.

 

I quickly go through my routine in the shower, but as I'm rinsing the soap out, I stop to think again. What are you doing Rogers? You can't do this again. You're supposed to be letting her go. Right... That's what I'm supposed to be doing.

With the thought of not letting her tempt me in mind, I leave the bathroom to see her staring at a picture hanging on the wall. Her guard was down and she was giggling. I smile at the sight. I miss seeing her like this.

“What's so funny?” I ask and she turns around, showing me her beautiful smile.

“Do you ever pay attention to the places you're staying at?”

“Well to a certain degree, yes.”

“Well I think you should start paying more closer attention.”

I look from her to the picture she was staring at, not understanding where she was going with this. She just smiles and takes the picture down, holding it in her arms.

“They say a picture’s worth a thousand words.”

She turns the picture over and I can see why she was laughing now. On the back was a crude drawing of a balding man bent over a woman wearing close to nothing saying: “best 50 bucks I ever spent”.

Brooke looks at me and then puts the picture back in place, “there are secrets all over the place, Steve. You just have to know where to look.”

“Yeah, well, I don't think I wanna know those kinds of secrets.”

“Fair point, but secrets are my area of expertise.”

She smiles and I only now realize how close we are.

I should move away, but being this close to her feels right. She seems to realize the same thing. She begins to lean in closer to me and looks me in the eyes.

“Steve…”

“Yeah?”

“I'm going to kiss you now.”

Without another word her lips crash into mine. I kiss her back as we make our way towards the bed where we became one again.

  
  


A week passes and we're still here. I should feel guilty, but everytime I look over and see her smiling face, I don't feel so bad.

We're about to go catch  _ The Phantom of the Opera  _ on broadway since she doesn't remember ever seeing the musical. We dressed up for the occasion and she looks absolutely stunning in her black lace dress with her styled hair up.

“You look beautiful” I say as I kiss her hand.

She smiles, “you don't look so bad yourself.”

After being seated, she leans over to me, “thank you for bringing me here.”

She kisses me on the cheek.

“Of course, I thought you might enjoy it.”

“Yeah… I don't get to do things like this often…”

I hold her closer to me, “we can go see the ballet that's showing for the next few days too.”

“I would love that. Dancing has always been a passion of mine.”

  
  


Another week passes and we're still okay. I took her to the ballet as promised and her eyes lit up as she watched the performance.

Later, in the hotel room we took the second picture off the wall to find the back blank. We decided to fix that.

She drew a camera while I drew some ballet slippers. After admiring our work I decided something was missing, so I added a spider. She took the picture from me and added an hourglass on the spider.

“Black Widow huh?” I say, looking at her.

She smiles and a chill runs down my spine, “I think it's very fitting.”

She leans in to kiss me.

_ It is fitting, _ I think to myself.

 

This woman is going to be the death of me.

 

After placing the picture back where it belonged, Brooke put on some music and started to dance. She relived the show as she danced one of the numbers we watched.

Beautiful.

She was born to be a dancer. I sketched her movements as she danced, but I didn't do her justice. Her beauty wasn't something that could be captured on paper. Although, she still loved it and made me promise to draw her again before we have to leave.

 

We make plans to go to the botanical gardens when she gets a phone call. I only hear bits of the conversation, but it doesn't take a genius to figure out what the call was for. She gets off the phone and turns to me.

We both know what's about to happen.

“When?” I ask.

“Tonight” she says, her voice quiet. I take a deep breath. We still had a whole day together. I was determined to make the most of it.

“Hey” I say as I reach out to her, “it's alright. Let's just enjoy today, okay?”

She tries to smile but it falters, “okay.”

 

We end up spending the entire day at the gardens. I took a bunch of pictures of her not wanting to forget any detail. Neither of us said anything. We just enjoyed each other’s presence. 

Sadly, the day draws to an end and now I'm walking her to the train station where she would go back to him. We're holding hands and neither of us want to let go.

“Steve I…”

I squeeze her hand, “I know.”

I can see the tears start to form in her eyes.

She tries to blink them away, “I wish I could tell the future me to not ever forget this.”

“Maybe you can. Or we can at least try.”

I pull her over towards the pay phones. I take the phone off the receiver and hold it out to her.

“Just pretend you're talking to your future self. Tell her whatever you think she needs to hear.”

She takes the phone from me and pretends to dial a number.

After a moment, she starts to speak, “I don't know who you're going to be in the future, but just know this. If you're lucky enough to meet Steven Grant Rogers again, don’t try to run away like I did here in New York. And if you do, you better be running towards him,” she looks over at me with a smile, “he’s stubborn as hell, but then again so are you. Just please remember him. Remember everything. This can't be the only meeting.”

She pauses then hands the phone back to me, “she wants to talk to you.”

I take the phone, “hey, it's Steve. Now you heard what Brooke said. She's a smart girl so I would listen to her. I…”

I swallow then look over at her, “she probably already knows this, but I'm going to say it anyways. I love her and I always will. I don't need her to say it back. I just want her to know.”

“She knows, Steve.”

I hang up the phone and pull her into me. I hold her tightly now wanting to let go.

She kisses me and I kiss her back. We don't pull away until we're breathless. The clock chimes as the train pulls into the station and we slowly let go of each other, but we don't say goodbye. I watch her walk away from me, out of my life. She's shaking, but she doesn't look back. We both knew how this was going to end.

 

And just like that, she's gone again. But this time I don't do anything to stop her. I can’t do anything to stop her.


	5. A Game of Hide and Seek

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Romanogers song rec- “Chasing You” by Capital Cities  
> “Chasing you  
> It's the only thing I want to do  
> But now I'm facing you  
> What the hell am I supposed to do
> 
> You must think I'm a mannequin  
> Because I only come alive in my Sunday best  
> But somehow I'm on the run again  
> So you probably shouldn't hold your breath  
> Don't train yourself to be a fool  
> I only want to stick around if you pass the test  
> Don't cross the line  
> Stop chasing time  
> Cause in time you'll find that I-I-I'm just  
> Chasing you”

February 14th, 2015

It's been almost a month since I've last seen her. Tony and Sam are both worried for me. I've stopped talking about her in hopes that it'll help me get over her faster… It’s not working.

As we rolled into February things got worse. Valentine's Day was approaching and the public was making a huge fuss over it. Luckily Tony saw what the holiday was doing to me and sent me off to Ireland for a photoshoot. The change in scenery helped, but I couldn't help but think about her. My heart ached, but I knew letting her go was what had to be done.

The photoshoot was at the Dublin Castle. They were going for a fairytale element, so the models were dressed like royalty from medieval times. Everything ran smoothly and we were done within a couple hours. After the crew was set to leave, I decided to stay around and take some pictures of the castle itself.

I was getting ready to leave when I looked back at the pictures and noticed a pink spot in the corner of the picture.  _ That's strange... No one on the site was wearing pink. _ I turn towards the castle and see a flash of red around the corner. It couldn't be… That shade of red. It could only be her. I make my way around the corner hoping to see her, but when I got there, no one was in sight. I hear the sound of a door opening. It came from the front entrance. Moving forward, and then through the open door, I stand inside the castle. Footsteps go up the stairs. Speeding up to catch the person, I'm still too far behind to confirm that it's her. Finally at the top of the steps leads to the roof. There was no one up here… Maybe I'm hallucinating and wishing she was here. I start to walk back down the steps to leave the castle, but something was telling me to wait. I turn back around and even though I know it would be her, I still couldn't believe it.

Yet there she was. Just like the first time we met. Her fiery red hair blowing in the wind. And the pink gown…? Why was she wearing a pink gown? She brushes the hair out of her face and we make eye contact. She smiles and gives me a small wave. I wave back then close the distance between us.

She extends her hand out, “hey handsome, looking for a damsel in distress?”

I chuckle, “I wouldn't call you a damsel in distress.”

Her green eyes sparkle and her smile turns deadly. No she definitely wasn't the damsel in distress type.

“I'm Natasha by the way.”

Natasha.

She's Natasha. I know that. It is her, but… why…

“Steve. Steve Rogers.”

“Steve… “ She pauses and studies me, “we've met?”

Is she playing games with me? I couldn't help the tone of my voice when I replied, “yes. We have. Several times actually. The last time with your boyfriend.”

Technically not a lie, I just didn't get to see him.

She laughs and shakes her head, “I think you're mistaken Mr. Rogers. I don't have a boyfriend. Not for the past few years at least.”

Impossible.

She sees the shock on my face as I try to make sense of what she's telling me. She reaches her hand out to touch me pulling me from my thoughts, “hey. You look like you need a drink. There's a bar close by, I'll buy you a beer.” 

We walk down to Brogan’s, a pub not far from where we were. The place was nice and there was Irish music playing in the background. Natasha orders two pints of Guinness. The bartender sets them down in front of us. Nat reaches for hers and takes a gulp, I on the other hand, just stare at her. She sets her drink down and looks at me.

I thought she was going to try and ask me what was wrong, but she didn’t, instead she just smirks at me and says, “I bet I can drink more than you.”

Baffled, all I could manage was “what?”

She takes another drink, “you heard me.”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“Why? Are you afraid of losing?”

“No, that’s not why I just…”

She pushes the cup closer to me, “then drink up.”

I look from the glass in front of me to Natasha who was halfway through with her drink. I’m going to regret this. I take a huge gulp of the guinness and before you know it, we’re already three pints in.

We both down two more pints before we're ready to call it a tie. Mostly because it's barely noon and also because neither of us really want to be drunk just yet. A couple next to us who are clearly very madly in love, and maybe a bit drunk, are gushing about Saint Valentine's shrine and how they absolutely have to leave right now for the holiday to be perfect. They quickly pay and leave the pub.

Natasha decides she wants to follow, “come on Soldier. It'll be fun. You may never get this chance again.” 

“I'm not sure I want to take this chance.”

“Live a little. You never know what might happen.”

“I don't know. Saint Valentine's shrine on Valentine's Day? Isn't that something you'd expect out of a rom com?”

“People do stuff like that in real life”

“Not always.”

“Come on Steve. Would you rather just sit here and drink all day by yourself? That's pathetic.”

That is pathetic, but wouldn't going be even worse? Then again, she would be with me… 

I order another pint of Guinness then pay the tab, “alright. We can go, but I'm finishing this first.” 

She smiles, “of course. Whatever you say Captain.”

Maybe it was the Guinness, but really it was just her, so now we're going to St. Valentine's shrine on Valentine's Day.

The church was beautiful and packed full of people. Some were leaving as mass had ended and they had already payed their respects to the martyr. There were still a lot of people around, so to keep from losing each other Nat held my hand as she lead the way through the sea of people. Finally we end up right in front of the shrine and somehow managed to stand right next to the drunk couple we saw at the Brogan’s. They were still passionate as ever but thankfully less handsy.

Natasha glances over at them then shrugs, “it certainly fits the holiday.”

“Yeah, I guess it does.”

We both take a moment to look at the shrine of the great St. Valentine.

“Do you know the story behind him?” She asks me.

“I know the basics; that he married people even though it was illegal at the time. He was punished by death on February 14th and that's why we're supposed to spread love and kindness on this day every year.”

“That's the gist of it. Love… It drives people mad and yet people still fall in love.”

“It's worth the madness and the heartache, believe me. With the right partner of course.”

“Love is only for children.”

“You still think that?”

She turns to face me, “I do.” She pauses then says, “ but maybe being a child isn't so bad.” She smiles, “tell me, what's a game you played when you were little?”

Thinking of our relationship, I reply, “I guess the first that comes to mind is hide and seek.”

Her eyes light up, “I was counting on you saying that. It's Valentine's Day and I have a plane to catch in six hours, but for now let's be children again. Bet you can't find me!”

With that she was off. I was all too familiar with this game when it comes to her. As long as I find her each time, I can't really be mad. I wait ten more seconds before I decide to try and find her. She's very good at hiding, but I'm just as good at finding her. She's faster, though, so every time I catch a glimpse of red she's gone again before I can follow. Fifteen minutes later, and I still haven't found her. I look around the corner trying to think where she may hide when I hear it. Two gun shots. Then screaming. Everyone was running now trying to get away.

Natasha.

I need to find her now. I move against the crowd trying to leave the church. I'm about halfway through when I see her. I immediately grab her hand and pull her into me.

“Are you alright?” I ask.

“Yeah, I'm fine. Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I'm okay. I was too far away to see anything. Do you know what happened?”

She shakes her head, “I'm not sure.”

“Let's get out of here.”

We walk into a coffee shop and order two lattes. Neither of us say anything. We just sit down and stare at the drinks in front of us. Natasha doesn't look too shaken, but there's still something there. I start to reach for her hand when my phone rings. It's Tony. I answer it.

“Hey Steve, I know you're having a shitty Valentine's Day, but I know two people who have it worse.”

“What happened?”

“I wanted to check on you since you were close by and you like looking at places like that, but anyways, two people were killed in the Church of Our Lady of Mount Carmel.”

“I was just there. Do we know if anyone else got hurt?”

“Figures you would be there even though you're alone. You really need to stop hurting yourself like this. Back to the church though, no one else was hurt. Only two shots both to the heads of the couple. Although interesting thing to note is that the woman was the daughter of a weapons manufacturer.”

“They were targeted.”

“Bingo.”

“Why kill the boyfriend too?” I ask.

“It's Valentine's Day. They were in love. Maybe the killer thought it was better to have them die together. You know, Romeo and Juliet shit”

“That… I'm not sure what to think about that.”

“Well anyways, I gotta go, important business stuff to attend to, but I want you on the next flight back. Better safe than sorry.”

“Thanks Tony. I'll see you soon.”

The phone buzzes as soon as I hang up, it's a text message from Tony. He sent the link of what the news had so far. I click on it.

What are the odds? The couple were the ones we saw at the pub. I show the article to Natasha. She reads it all with a straight face.

“Do they have any idea who might have done this?” She asks me.

I shake my head, “no, there needs to be further investigations before we'll know. It's just crazy. Not that we knew them personally, but they were right next to us.”

“Yeah. They were close.”

“Tony wants me on the next flight home.”

“That's smart. I don't think I want to stay here any longer than I have to.”

We call a cab and head off to the airport. The car ride was quiet until I realized something. There was a huge grin on my face as I turn to her, “so you were wrong.”

“Wrong about what?”

“I drank one more Guinness than you.”

“Please, I could have drank another one too.”

“But you didn’t”

“You know, you’re kind of a piece of shit, but I like that about you.”

We arrive at the airport a few minutes later. The next flight to New York is taking off in an hour. As for Natasha...

“Where are you going?” I ask her before we have to leave.

“Back where I belong. You?”

“New York. I'll probably go visit my best friend since Tony will be busy with his girlfriend.”

“I guess I'll see you around.”

“Yeah, I'd like that.”

And for the first time we parted, there was hope. I would get to see her again.

We were just playing one big game of hide and seek.


	6. Who Do You Want Me To Be?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Romanogers song rec- “Past Lives” by BORNS  
> “Past lives couldn't ever hold me down  
> Lost love is sweeter when it's finally found  
> I've got the strangest feeling  
> This isn't our first time around”

March, 2015

When one goes to the airport, looking up at the screen to see that a flight is delayed happens sometimes, but it usually is back on a schedule within a couple of hours. However, after a couple hours and nothing's changed, that's when one might think they're going to be stuck for a lot longer than they want. The flight to Sokovia has been delayed for two hours now with no sign of departing anytime soon. Luckily the appointment for the photoshoot can be pushed back, but still, waiting at the airport blows.

Sitting here wasn't getting me anywhere, so I decided to get up and walk around back to the screens to see if maybe the plane would be ready for take off.

Nope. No such luck, though that's not the only flight that's been delayed. There's one headed towards Russia that's been stuck for an hour now.

“Sucks doesn't it? Having to waste a day at the airport instead of whatever country you're supposed to be at.”

I turn around trying to find the source of the voice, only to find her standing right behind me.

Natasha.

She looked annoyed, but probably because she'd been stuck here for a while.

I reply back, “yeah, it does suck. Where are you supposed to be?” 

“Back to the motherland, Russia, but that doesn’t look like it’s happening anytime soon. You?” 

“Sokovia, for a job.” 

“Wow. You've been stuck here for even longer than I have.” 

“Yeah, and it doesn't look like I’ll be able to board anytime soon either.” 

“Same here.” She pauses, “well, as long as we're here, let's explore. I'm usually in and out spending most of my time on the plane. I don't really get to experience what it's like to just be in an airport.” 

“What were you thinking of doing?” 

She gives me a playful wink before pulling me along, “you'll just have to wait and see.”

 

Our first stop was the gift shop since it was the closest to us. We wandered around the store a bit looking at all the souvenirs. There wasn’t anything interesting, just the typical t-shirts and refrigerator magnets. We were about to leave when we spotted the postcards. Nat came up with the idea to get a postcard that we would write or doodle something on it to give to each other before we left. After buying the postcards, we stepped out for the next adventure.

We were deciding what to do next when we walked upon an open area with a bunch of seats and couches. There was an older couple nearby in one of the loveseats. The man seemed to be having trouble and looked a little frazzled. Natasha immediately went towards them to help. She knelt down to pick up the man’s luggage.

“Here, let me help you with that.” 

He looks at his wife, then at her, not sure what to do.

The wife replies for him, “thank you. I'm sorry, my husband gets a little confused so he doesn't remember what we're doing here.” 

“It's alright. It happens. Do you know where your gate is?”

“I'm not sure… Let's see…” 

 

I step in to help the woman read her ticket as she was having trouble with it, “here, let me help. Oh hey, you're on your way to Sokovia as well. That's where I'm going. We can walk you over, but the plane is delayed and we're not sure when it's going to be running again.”

“We will have to wait then, but please do show us the way. That would be very helpful.”

 

We walk them both back to where I was supposed to be to find an empty spot for them to settle.

We were doing fine until the husband started panicking a little, “what's going on? Who are you? Why am I here?” 

The wife immediately put her hand over his and smiled gently, “we're going to visit our son and I am your wife. It's okay.”

The man listens to her words and calms down a little. He smiles back at her, “how did I get so lucky?”

She laughs and the two of them stare at each other with loving eyes. Then the husband frowns then asks again, “who are you?”

This doesn’t hurt the wife at all as she keeps up her smile, “I am your wife. My name is Margaret and your’s is Daniel.”

He simply nods before looking away trying to process the information. He doesn't say anything more.

Margaret sighs, “some days it's easy, others it's hard. This isn't too bad though.” 

“How do you deal with it all?” Natasha asks. 

Margaret looks at Daniel with the same loving eyes as before, “when you're in love, you take them at their best and worst. We make it work. Memories can be made again, and really I don't mind reminding him that we're married. I'm proud to say that we're together. We’ve been together for 46 years.”

Natasha smiles at that, “that's really sweet.”

Margaret agrees. She looks at Natasha then at me, “Don’t fret, you two will get there someday. I know it. Thank you both for the help. Don't let us old timers keep you from your fun. Go ahead. We'll be fine by the gate.”

We were both a little reluctant to go, but she simply waved us off as Daniel started becoming responsive again. We took that as our cue to leave.

Natasha sighs as we walk further away from the couple. “What’s wrong?”

She gives a weak smile, “It’s nothing really.” 

“Something’s bothering you.” 

“Yeah, I just… It must be hard for her to have to look after him when he can’t remember.” 

“It is hard work, but that doesn’t mean it’s not worth it. They’re still very in love with each other. You can see it in the way their eyes light up. She doesn’t think of him as a burden. She continues to remind him because she loves him and when he recognizes a memory they both become excited.” 

She puts on a real smile this time, “I suppose you’re right. I’m glad they have each other.”

I want to say more, to tell her that I would do the same, but I don’t want to overwhelm her.

Instead, I ask, “what’s next on our airport adventure?”

She doesn’t reply, but chooses to grab my hand and walk us toward the intersection where all the gates meet.

It turns out our next stop was to go into one of the restaurants for lunch and just people watch. Which was something that Natasha excelled in. She reads people well, but sometimes she would just make up a story to make it more entertaining. 

“That guy in the gray suit just lost his job, but he doesn't know how to break it to his family.”

“That girl over there has a case of wanderlust and she's starting off her journey by going to Finland. It’s the first time she’s going to be out of the country.”

“The little boy next to the red suitcase was an orphan, but he's jumping up and down with excitement since he's headed home with his new family.” 

“See that woman over there? The one stopping to take a selfie. She's on her way to the Bahamas to meet her lover. You can tell from the way she's glowing and her choice in clothes. She’ll be engaged before the weekend’s over.”

When she's done telling the stories of those people she leans back in her chair and takes a sip of her water. “You can tell all that just by one look?” 

“Of course not. It takes years of practice. You get good at things like this. I'll admit some of it is make believe, but most of it is true.” 

“Hm… Well what would you say about me?” 

“Steve, I know you though.” 

“Do you?”

She falters, but only for a second. Her face turns serious as she studies me.

“You were a soldier. That part is obvious, in the way you carry yourself. There was someone… Something… Something happened there to make you get out.”

I nod, “all true.” 

She smiles, “alright Soldier, it's your turn.” 

“Well” I smile, “I doubt I’d be better than you.” 

“Give it your best shot.” 

Instead of trying to guess what was true, I decide to tell her all the things she already told me before

“You’re a dancer. You lost your parents at a young age.” 

Her face falls, “you’re better at this than you thought. Both are true. Sometimes I wonder how I would’ve turned out if they were still here. It’s too late though.”

I reach for her hand, “Nat, it’s never too late.” 

“Steve, you don’t know me though. You don’t know what I’ve done.”

“I know enough. I know that this isn’t what you want. Whatever this is.”

She sighs, “what I want doesn’t matter. I just have to live with it, but sometimes it’s difficult.” 

I want to tell her that it would be okay, but I don’t know that. Instead, she decides to tell me a story.

“Once upon a time there was a little girl who wanted to be a dancer. Her parents thought it was a great idea, so they signed her up for lessons. She became a ballerina, one of the best, now though… I suppose things aren’t so different. She just does a different type of dance. One that she has to perform over and over again. It’s not so bad though.” 

She meets my eyes, “at least not when you have the right partner.” “Have you found the right partner?” 

“I may have. Have you?” 

“I have, but I keep losing her.” 

She squeezes my hand. “But every time we meet again, it’s just like the first time.” 

“Doesn’t that get tiring?”

“It’s a little frustrating at times, but she’s worth it. I just wish she knew.” 

“She does.”

After lunch we decide to give each other some space to write on the postcards. We weren't far apart, just a few feet away. I took this opportunity to sketch her as my message. Luckily she took a while with her thoughts as we finished around the same time. 

We walk back to the monitors where we met to see that my plane was finally here.

“So..” I say awkwardly, “I guess this is goodbye.” 

“For now. It’s never a real goodbye” she says with a playful smile. 

“Back to being strangers again then.” 

She doesn't like this answer, “who do you want me to be?”

_ Everything. Mine. Just like before _

I settle for “how about a friend?”

“You might be in the wrong business Rogers.” 

We exchange our postcards with a promise not to read it until I board the plane. No other words are exchanged nor are there any second glances. We've played this game enough times for me to know that it'll be okay.

When I find my seat on the plane I'm not surprised to see Margaret and Daniel are seated next to me. I smile at them and we say our hellos. 

Just before take off Daniel reaches over his wife and surprises me when he asks, “where's your girlfriend that was with you?” 

This takes Margaret by surprise as well. “She's going away on business.”

This answer seems to satisfy him as he leans back to his own seat and quietly stares out the window. I take this time to pull out the postcard and read what she wrote me:

  
**A photographer once told me “it's never too late.” I'm starting to believe in that. This photographer is starting to make me believe in a lot of things. The next time we meet things will be different. Maybe one day we'll be able to stop playing this game. Until then, just think of our time as past lives. We're bound to finally get it right during one of our next lives. Hopefully it happens sooner rather than later. See you around Soldier -xx Nat**


	7. Have Some Hope

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Romanogers Song Rec- “Maps” by Maroon 5  
> “I miss the taste of a sweeter life  
> I miss the conversation  
> I’m searching for a song tonight  
> I’m changing all of the stations
> 
> I like to think that we had it all  
> We drew a map to a better place  
> But on that road I took a fall  
> Oh baby why did you run away?”

June 2015

Three months. It took another three months for me to see her again. It's almost hard to believe that she's here at Muizenberg Beach in Cape Town, South Africa. Then again, when it comes to her, I really shouldn't be surprised. Her hair is black and she's wearing a black one piece swimsuit. Our eyes meet as she's getting out of the ocean with a surfboard in hand. She smiles and I take that as a sign that I should go and talk to her.

“Hey Handsome, what do you go by?” 

“Steve. Steve Rogers at your service.”

“Steve, huh? Well it's nice to meet you, I'm Lucy. Lucy Besson.”

A little girl with brown hair and a pink swimsuit shows up and tries to pull Lucy away.

“Aunty Lucy! Come build a sand castle with us! You promised you would after that wave!”

She smiles letting herself be dragged by the child.

“I did promise Ana, but I think we could use some help. What do you say Steve? Do you wanna build a sand castle?”

She doesn't wait for me to reply as Ana had already pulled her toward where her bucket was. I quickly make my way over to them.

 

Ana had already started putting the wet sand into the bucket while Lucy grabbed the plastic shovel and another pail. Ana flips the bucket over to start the base of the castle. She then looks up at me then turns to her Aunty Lucy. She smiles and hands me her bucket and shovel, 

“Here Uncle Steve, you help Aunty Lucy with the castle while I go gather some shells and seaweed for decoration!”

Without another word she gets up and runs towards the ocean.

 

“So, is Ana your niece?”

“No. We're not related. She's just taken a liking to me, so she calls me her Aunt.”

“I think she chose right.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“I'm pretty good at reading people. I learned from the best.”

She laughs at this, “oh Steve, there's so much more about me that you don't even know.”

 

Ana comes back with the decorations just as we were putting finishing touches on our masterpiece.

“Wow! That looks really good! You and Uncle Steve made it look perfect!”

“It's not perfect just yet Ana, we still need to decorate it.”

They get right to work placing the seaweed and seashells around the castle. Once they were done, they stepped back to admire their handiwork. Ana looked proud of the work and was the first to exclaim, “it’s beautiful!”

She pulls Lucy and I into a hug, “thank you two so much for helping me! It's perfect!”

Another woman's voice calls out, “Ana, sweetie, it's time to go home.”

“Coming Mommy!”

“I'll see you next time Aunty Lucy! Bye Uncle Steve!”

With that she gathers her supplies and runs toward her mother.

 

“She's a great kid.”

“Yeah, she is. She's always been easy to get along with too. She was the first person to welcome me here.”

“Why did you move here anyways?”

“Work.”

She changes the subject, “since you're here, you might as well get into the ocean. It'd be a shame not to go and enjoy it.”

“Only if you'll join me.”

She smiles brightly, “of course.”

 

We both step into the water and dive under for a little swim. When I come up for air, I don't see her. I turn around to find water being splashed at me and the sound of her giggling. A water fight soon erupts. She's a lot faster and she cheats by diving under the water. To counter that I try to catch her off guard.

After the second time she disappeared under a wave I was ready. As soon as she came up for air I grabbed her. My hand brushes over her left hip and I feel it. Her scar. She tenses up slightly, but let's her guard down when I let her go.

“I got shot.” 

“I’m sorry.”

She shakes her head, “don’t be, you had nothing to do with it. Perks of the job is all that it is, but I’m sure you’re familiar with that.” 

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Steve!”

He heard the warning too late. There was smoke and fire everywhere. All over the battlefield were gunfires and screaming, but only one mattered. The bullet was meant for him. For the great Captain America as they called him, but instead it hit another target.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Yeah… it’s something I am familiar with.”

She gives me a once over, “You don’t look too bad though, but for me it’s bye bye bikinis.”

“Yeah, I bet you look terrible in them now.” She laughs then splashes water on me which ensures another water fight.

 

After we’ve had enough of getting salt water in our mouth, we head back to the beach where we dried off. As we were drying off Lucy invited me to visit the Cape of Good Hope trail at Cape Point for two days and one night.

“It took me weeks in advance to get this opportunity and my plus one bailed on me so I have an extra spot now. There’s no way I’m canceling.”

She bats her eyelashes as me, “It’d be awfully lonely to go alone…”

I smile, “I could go for a trip.”

“Perfect, then it’s set. Meet me at 6 A.M. in front of Africa Cafe tomorrow and we’ll grab a bite before heading off the trail.”

“Did you want me to bring anything?” She winks at me, “just make sure you have lots of energy.”

 

The cafe opened at exactly six. We were the first people there, so we got the place to ourselves. Since we planned on being at the trail at seven, when it opened, we ordered some sandwiches and coffees togo. We took Lucy’s car for the drive. She had everything packed for the trip: hiking gear, food and water, a map, and some blankets. We arrived at our destination a few minutes before seven.

The trail was 33.8 km long. We had a long walk to get to our camping site, but it was worth it. The scenery around us was beautiful. I took pictures along the way. I tried being discreet when taking some pictures of Lucy, but I think she noticed, she didn’t mind though. She just pretended not to notice when I got a really good shot of her. She still smiled every time. Which resulted in me taking more pictures.

Her smile is gorgeous, it’s something I never get tired of seeing. She doesn’t smile often, especially not when she’s lost in her thoughts, so I treasure every moment it appears. 

By the time we reached the Rooikrans cottages, where we would be staying for the night, it was only one in the afternoon. We settled in and set our things down then went to prepare a picnic for lunch. The cottages were by the coastline so it gave us a clear view of the ocean.

“So what is it that you do, Lucy?”

“I’m an engineer.”

“Oh. Are you here on business or pleasure then?”

 

She flashes a deadly smile making me feel that I should be afraid

“My work always brings me pleasure.”

She then adds on, “doesn’t your’s?”

I gulp, “it does.”

“Good. That means you picked the right occupation.”

“I didn’t really choose this though.”

“Well Steve, it seems we have another thing in common.”

 

We spent the rest of the day walking around and exploring the area. She even allowed me to sketch her in my sketchbook. Afterwards we settled for dinner and went to bed early to hike the rest of the trail tomorrow.

 

I woke up around five when I heard a strange noise. Lucy whispered something in Russian (I'm sorry. Goodbye.) I look over to see that her side of the bed was empty. I quickly get up and head outside to look for her. It was still dark out, but she couldn't have gotten far. I looked around for her, but the odds were not in my favor. I tripped over something. After that I figured the best plan of action was to go back. Maybe she didn't leave for good.

 

As soon as I got back to the States, Sam called me to meet up. We met up at a bar and the first thing he asked was if I knew what happened.

“What happened?”

“Man, you were right there and you didn't hear about it?”

“I was distracted… There was something else on my mind.”

“I'm surprised Tony hasn't called to tell you himself. Anyways, does the name Fredrick Ferdinand ring a bell?”

“Ferdinand? It sounds familiar… Why? Who was he?”

“He was a mechanical engineer. He was working with this company to help develop nanotechnology; they were on the urge of a breakthrough it seemed, but then he died of a heart attack on a hiking trip in Cape Town.”

“There wasn't really anyone else there, though, when we were there.”

“We? Who's we? Were you on that trail too?”

“Yeah. I saw her again…”

“Your mystery girl with the boyfriend?”

“She doesn't have a boyfriend. At least, I don't think she does. I don't know. She's hard to figure out.”

“I thought she left you. How do you two just keep finding each other again? This is like something out of the movies.”

“I don't know, Sam. I don't really feel like analyzing it now though. As long as I get to see her, it doesn't matter how or why.”

“I hope you know what you're getting into.”

“I don't, but she's worth it.” 


End file.
